VOYAGE TO GREEN AND GENTLE LANDS Exploring Gardens and Historic Sites from London to Bergen With American Horticultural Society Host HOLLY H. SHIMIZU and featuring an exclusive lunch at EDINBURGH ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS Aboard the Deluxe Le Boréal May 12–22, 2019 Le Boréal sailing into London Dear Friends, I’m pleased to invite you to join a small group of like-minded AHS travelers on a rare voyage that combines the pleasures of cruising and private and public garden excursions. The British Isles, Belgium, and Norway in springtime are lovely, verdant places, and this voyage is carefully designed to showcase the very best they have to offer. As we sail from London into the North Sea, we pause along the way to explore the remarkable gardens of both shores. Our first special engagements occur before we even step foot onboard ship. Pre- embarkation, spend the day at Kew Gardens, London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage site with the most diverse collection of living plants in the world. Before transferring to Le Boréal, your five-star vessel that hosts no more than 264 guests, we’ll also visit Chelsea Physic Garden, tucked away in an almost secret location beside the Thames and the oldest botanic garden in London. In other ports, excursions with a focus on gardens, art, and history will be available. From Ostend, you may travel to Bruges or Kesteel van Oostkerke to explore the garden designed by Mien Ruys. Norway’s Stavanger is home to the exotic gardens of Flor og Fjære as well as a fascinating maritime history. The highlight of our voyage lies at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. In late spring, the Garden’s lilacs put on a magnificent display, its rhododendrons are bursting, and the star of the show is the Syringa tomentella from China. As we take in this lush world of color and scent, we’ll sit down to an exclusive gala luncheon on site, hosted by the Garden leadership. Our traveling companion and expert guide to this horticultural experience will be Holly Shimizu, member of the American Horticultural Society Board of Directors and former host of the Victory Garden television show. The fertile shores of the North Sea are the perfect backdrop for learning from her insights on European gardening. I hope you will join Holly and the American Horticultural Society in May 2019 on an enlivening journey. Sincerely, Beth Tuttle President and CEO Front cover: Bruges Back cover: Stavanger (left); Edinburgh (right) FEATURED GUEST SPEAKER AND AHS TOUR HOST HOLLY H. SHIMIZU, a member of the American Horticultural Society Board of Directors and recently-retired Executive Director of the United States Botanic Garden, is an internationally recognized horticulturist. She has worked in gardens in many parts of the world and is often recognized from ten years as a host of the popular Victory Garden television show on PBS. Holly has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Thomas Roland Medal for outstanding contributions to horticultural education from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Professional Award for an Outstanding Public Garden Director from the American Horticultural Society. Dedicated to heightening an awareness and love of plants through her work, she has written for numerous publications and has been an international flower show judge. Her husband Osamu is a garden designer whom she met while working in Europe. HIGHLIGHTS • Garden expert Holly Shimizu leads a series of onboard lectures • Tour Chelsea Physic Garden, the oldest botanic garden in London, and Kew Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on a specially-tailored pre-cruise program • Enjoy a gala luncheon at the tranquil Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, hosted by the director and staff exclusively for Le Boréal guests • Excursions to private and public gardens, and other points of interest, in most ports of call ITINERARY Friday, May 17 BERGEN NORWAY AT SEA (B,L,D) Stavanger Saturday, May 18 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDOM Rosyth North Sea Excursions in Newcastle include a tour of this Edinburgh vibrant university town, including the BALTIC Newcastle Upon Tyne Center for Contemporary Art and the Great North Museum on the campus of Newcastle ENGLAND University. For our garden enthusiasts, we LONDON Antwerp Ostend BELGIUM offer a tour, personally guided by the Duchess Bruges of Northumberland, of the gardens at Alnwick Castle. (B,L,D) Sunday, May 12, 2019 Sunday, May 19 FLY FROM THE USA ROSYTH, SCOTLAND | EDINBURGH Monday, May 13 Today is devoted to visiting the Royal Botanic LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM Garden in Edinburgh, founded in 1670 and Arrive in London and transfer to your deluxe now a world-renowned center of plant science hotel for overnight. Gather with fellow travelers and horticulture. First we are welcomed by the this evening for a welcome reception and Curator of the Garden’s Living Collection, then introduction to the program ahead. (R) we enjoy expert-led tours of the gardens and research center. We also will be guests at an Tuesday, May 14 exclusive luncheon, in the elegant Caledonian LONDON | EMBARK Hall (built in 1842) with spectacular views Tour Kew Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage over Royal Botanical Garden’s renowned rock site and one of the world’s leading botanical garden. (B,L,D) research institutions. After a quick lunch, we enjoy a visit to Chelsea Physic Garden. In late Monday, May 20 afternoon, we embarkLe Boréal and set sail AT SEA (B,L,D) down the Thames. (B,L,D) Tuesday, May 21 Wednesday, May 15 STAVANGER, NORWAY OSTEND, BELGIUM | BRUGES OR KESTEEL Stavanger has played a leading role in Norway’s VAN OOSTKERKE maritime history. One excursion goes to Following a morning at sea, possible Ullandhaug, where reconstructed houses give excursions include the medieval town of a sense of the living conditions during the Bruges for a walking tour of the historic center Iron Age and enjoy magnificent views over and a visit to the Groeninge Museum, home to Hafrsfjord. Or take our garden excursion to Flor a fine collection of Flemish art; or to Kesteel og Fjaere. Before returning to the ship, you may van Oostkerke, an architectural castle garden wish to walk along Old Stavanger with its well- designed by the internationally respected preserved wooden houses dating to the 18th Dutch gardener Mien Ruys. (B,L,D) and 19th centuries. (B,L,D) Thursday, May 16 Wednesday, May 22 ANTWERP BERGEN | DISEMBARK | FLY TO THE USA (B) Tour this historic city, including Grote Markt, Town Hall, the guild houses that were the driving force behind Antwerp’s economic The American Horticultural Society dominance of the 17th century, Brabo Fountain, Travel Study Program offers exclusive and Vlaaikensgang (a typical medieval alley). experiences and unique insights. You may also visit the Cathedral, which contains Your participation benefits the work some of Rubens’ greatest paintings: Elevation of the Society and furthers our vision of the Cross and Descent from the Cross. Also on offer is a garden excursion to Arboretum of “Making America a Nation of Kalmthout. (B,L,D) Gardeners, A Land of Gardens.” FOR RESERVATIONS OR INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL US AT (703) 768-5700, EXT. 127 OR 132 WWW.AHSGARDENING.ORG ITINERARY Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh PROGRAM INCLUSIONS Included • 1 night in London including breakfast and lunch • Welcome cocktail reception at the hotel • Pre-cruise sightseeing in London, as described in itinerary • 8-night cruise aboard the deluxe Le Boréal • Welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship • All meals aboard ship including early riser’s coffee & pastry, breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner • Open bar aboard ship, including select wines with lunch and dinner • Shore excursions as described in itinerary • Enrichment program of lectures and discussions by featured guest • Physician aboard ship • Comprehensive pre-departure materials • Baggage handling and airport transfers abroad on the designated program arrival and departure dates Descent from the Cross by Reubens, Antwerp Cathedral • Port taxes and charges • Gratuities to shipboard personnel, porters, guides, and drivers Brabo Fountain, Antwerp Not included Airfare; airport taxes, visa and passport fees (if applicable); luggage, cancellation, and accident insurance; personal expenses such as laundry, telephone calls, internet, spa services and beverages other than those specified above Lily pond, Kew Gardens, London FOR RESERVATIONS OR INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL US AT (703) 768-5700, EXT. 127 OR 132 WWW.AHSGARDENING.ORG LE BORÉAL The deluxe, five-star Le Boréal is one of the most beautifully conceived and technologically sophisticated small ships afloat. Designed in France and built in Italy, Le Boréal boasts an elegantly understated aesthetic that one associates with European sensibility and craftsmanship, with room for no more than 264 guests. It is one of four sister ships of the PONANT cruise line, selected as Best Zodiac Luxury Cruise Line by Cruise Critic’s editors in 2014. Bar All sister ships are recognizedSUN DECK as eco-friendly “Clean Open-air Bar Zodiac Bar Zodiac Ships” by Bureau Veritas. Zodiac SUN DECK Open-air Bar Zodiac Bar Zodiac SUN DECK Open-air Bar Bar DECK PLAN Zodiac SUN DECK Open-air Bar Zodiac Bar SUN DECK Zodiac 602 Open-air Bar 626 624 622 620 618 616 614 612 610 608 Owner’s Suite Deluxe Bar Suite GRILL Zodiac SUN DECK PANORAMIC POOL RESTAURANT PANORAMIC 7 LOUNGE TERRACE Open-air Bar 626 624 622 620 618 616 614 612 610 608 Owner’s 602 INTERNET 539 625 623 621 619 617 615 611 609 607 605Suite603 Deluxe601 GRILL